Tonic Living Custom Drapery!

I've kept you waiting on progress on the master bedroom renovation, haven't I? I don't mean to, but we're still waiting on the swing arm lamps and deciding on some art and other small projects so I'd hate to reveal the room before its all done. But hopefully, this will tide you over for a bit...

The window coverings are up! And boy, do they add some personality and colour to the room. At first, I had wanted to have a single wooden blind across the three windows like I've seen in so many decorating photos but we went to RONA and the draperies lady highly recommended we don't go that route. She said that wood blinds will warp and distort over time because of sun exposure and moisture changes and given the large size we wanted, it would be very evident. Oh - and the custom size would cost us in the neighbourhood of $700!! Yeah, scratch that idea. We ended up getting three wood roman blind shades in a standard size for about $75!

And then there's the curtains... how I love them. I'd debated getting custom drapes or getting something off the shelf like this or this or this. But the colours and patterns were boring and I would have to get some of the drapes black-out lined as well. I decided to ask my seamstress who did the curtains and upholstery for the nursery and the deck but her quote was too much to swallow.

Then I remembered Tonic Living. I'd ordered fabric samples from them before and I remembered they also did custom work. So I asked for a quote:
- curtain panels for 11' wide window, 1.5x fullness
- top pinch pleat
- using their yummy Sweet William in Teal fabric
- blackout lined
- custom length of 90.5" (from the bottom of the curtain rings to just grazing the floor)

They came out perfectly.

And the quote? Less than $390 Canadian including tax and shipping :) I fell off my chair, I tell you! It would cost me much more to get an off the shelf product customized with blackout lining and shortened.

I can tell you I was a little nervous ordering something custom sight unseen (though I did order a fabric sample beforehand - only $1 per sample!) but I need not have worried. Tonic Living was an absolute pleasure to deal; their customer service is top notch and the quality of the end product is great. They're based out of Toronto so I was glad to patronize a local company to boot.

Since I was so happy with the product, I thought I'd do a little mention of Tonic Living here on the old blog. If you are in the market for fabric or custom sewing, definitely check them out!

And lucky you - Tonic Living is offering you a 10% discount off any order (no minimum)! To get the discount:
- enter the coupon code RAMBLING on the first page of the check out process in the coupon code box
- plus, Canadian customers with postal codes starting with L, M or N get free shipping on orders of $50 or more (pre-tax)

What are you waiting for? Get fabric shopping! And I'll get back to slowly putting my room together ;)

Ok, so maybe I'm going to scrap my blind project and go the route that you just did. Awesome! Did that quote include the fabric cost? I'm assuming it didn't - I'm suffering from new Mom brain, so excuse my dumb question if you addressed it in the post!

Lindsay - the price included the cost of the fabric AND the blackout liner! Incredible, right? I just read your post on your nursery curtains and was going to send you a note about Tonic. You should definitely ask them for a quote :)

Those are my favorite bamboo blinds ever and I like the look better individual like you did them , and those curtains , gorgeous , I could use some of that here for new pillows looks like they did a great job too .

I just found your site and I'm totally hooked. You have a fantastic style! I am from TO living in Van so I miss the TO homes and can't wait to dig through all your posts to see what you've done with your place. Glad I found you :)Carol

Thanks so much for the tip about Tonic Living!! I absolutely love your choice of fabric!! This is a great resource to keep in mind for future projects. My friend and I sewed all the drapes for my condo, and if I had known about Tonic we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble!!Here's how my project turned out: http://bit.ly/cHcHyb

I used to read your blog and somehow it had fallen off my radar until I came across it today. How the heck could I have forgotten about you and your awesome ideas. You have just single handedly solved my blackout curtain dilemma for our bedrooms!! And 10% off to boot, You are awesome.

I came on over to say hi and thank you for your wonderful comment on my last blog post. But what a coincidence I happen to read your post about the Tonic Living draperies. I came across their website just yesterday and it was the first time I'd ever heard of them,,,I was searching for ready-made outdoor pillows and that's how I found their site. I ordered some cushions for myself as a trial run for future referrals but I'm thrilled to hear you had a great experience with them. Too bad I hadn't read this post a day earlier I could have used the 10% discount!!! However, I have to admit their prices are unbelievable! Such a beautiful fabric you selected for the draperies I was eyeing it myself as a favorite.

I <3 those colours! That's exactly what I was looking for for my family room. And! I think for the first time ever, I actually get to take advantage of a decor blog promo, living in an L postal code as I do.

Just found your blog. I am in love with that fabric and would love to do my dining room drapes in that. I didn't see on the site about them making the drapes. They did yours, right? So beautiful. And I love your blog.

I love your blog and absolutely love your curtains, so much so that I'm thinking of ordering them for my living room. I know you said your windows were 11' wide and you ordered 1.5x fullness. Does that mean that each panel is 8.25' wide? Since the fabric is only 54" wide, did they do a good job matching up the pieces?

That's great to hear karahmia! I bought the curtain rings with the clips, however I didn't use the clip part... basically I was left with a big ring (that the rod goes through) with a little ring attached to it. I had tonic put the drapery hooks on the back of the curtain and then I slipped the hook through the little ring. Hope that helps.

Thank you so much for the recommendation to Tonic Living. I just received my curtains and they're fantastic; I couldn't be happier! Quick question for you. Did you but the curtain rings with clips and clip them to the top of the curtain or to the lining on the underside? Thanks again!